Maybe if Jones spent less time rubbing his eye and more time running plays, the Pacers wouldn't be down 37 points.

LeBron catches up on some pre-game reading

The Indiana Pacers: Well the honeymoon was great while it lasted. Felt like it was only a couple days ago the Pacers took a 2-1 series lead, shocked everyone, and Miami was labeled D.O.A

Unfortunately for Indiana, it was a best of 7 series, not a best of 3. In a game that had huge playoff implications, a Game 5 win for Indy with the next one at home would have put them in the driver's seat for an ECF berth. Instead, they got into the driver's seat and drove off a cliff.

The Heat led by as many as 37 points handing Indiana their worst playoff loss in franchise history.

They also had flagrant fouls galore in this game:

Who needs to battle to the ECF when you can get the WWF right here.

Indiana shot a measly 33% as their starting 5 went 16-48 from the floor.

And considering that Indy's starting 5 usually puts up these kinds of numbers:

The Pacers have outscored opponents by 75 points with its starting lineup (Paul George, Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, George Hill and David West)
on the court together this postseason, the best plus-minus for any
five-player combination in the playoffs. When any other combination of
Pacers has been on the court, Indiana has been outscored by 48. In the
Eastern Conference Semifinals, the starters are +47 and all other
lineups are -74.

Ouch is right.

"We learned early in this series, you don't get two wins for a blowout," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Thankfully, you don't get two losses for a blowout either, otherwise we'd be f*cked"

"I can't believe my team went soft. S-O-F-T," Larry Bird told the Indianapolis
Star. "I'm disappointed. I never thought it would happen."

His assistant then whispered into Bird's ear that he's running the 2012 Indiana Pacers, not the '86 Celtics.

Game 6 is tomorrow night, and I'm sure the shadow of LeBron will loom over Granny Danger:

At least when LeBron isn't ignoring his coaches:

From Around the League:

So the Lakers were officially eliminated, and no tears were shed....outside southern California anyway:

Andrew Bynum demonstrates what he'll be doing all summer on the beach

The face of a man who will be joining the bread line in no time

You mad?

OKC/Spurs:

So this is pretty much 2012's NBA Finals matchup. Not that an Eastern team can't take it this year, but it's probably the best matchup you're going to see in this year's playoffs.

I'm thinking Spurs in 6, but this series will probably go the distance.

Who wouldn't want to see the following teams face off against each other:

I've been saying this, but I'm REALLY looking forward to Thunder/Spurs series. Spurs seem unstoppable and Thunder looks like they're finally putting it all together. But, something has to give! In the end, I think Spurs veteran savvy and superior coaching will give them (little) advantage. Spurs in 7.

I got the feeling that the Thunder will push the Spurs to their limits and even though San Antonio advances to the Finals, Duncan and Ginobili will be out of gas and the burden of doing the legwork will be on Tony Parker.

Stockton, source?? That sounds crazy, especially since Sloan is old and I thought he was kind of sick of coaching. Maybe this is a revenge on MJ for all those rings that MJ denied him. Sloan will go to Charlotte and make Bobcats worse. Oh wait, that's not possible.

Roy Hibbert is averaging 11.7 pts and 11.5 boards for the playoffs, against two teams who have no real centers. If he were even a semi all star, his numbers would go off the charts and Indy could win this. So oine effect of this series is to show that 7'2" Roy Hibbert is capped in his abilities: he's a valuable role player, but he'll never be a great big man.

First, the small: Shaq as a GM? Really? Well, at least he can't eat himself out of contention like he could as a player.

Second the large: "However, this is not a job I have an interest in pursuing. I feel very fortunate to be with TNT and to have the best job in sports. I look forward to many more years with Charles (Barkley), Kenny."

NOOOOOOOoooooooooo..........How is it that TNT doesn't realize how badly Shaq effs up their chemistry? Maybe this is just wishful thinking on Shaq's part, but fer the love of god, get him off of that set! {What I actually expect is that Shaq has an inflated multi-year contract, which will be tossed around from one network to another like a hot potato. You know, like his last few years in the league.}

Wormboy: isn't Hibbert up for à new contract this summer? I fear Indiana is going to pay for that AllStar tag and the media attention. Then again, a 7'2" center with some skill is bound to be overpaid by someone.